The present invention relates generally to the display and dispensing of bulk items at a point of sale and pertains, more specifically, to apparatus and method for displaying bulk items and selectively dispensing a selected quantity of the bulk items from a multiplicity of bulk items on display, upon demand.
It has become quite popular to offer for sale bulk items, such as candy, snacks, cereals and other items at various locations, including supermarkets, shopping malls and even movie theaters, in transparent bins from which a purchaser merely scoops a desired quantity and places the scooped items into a bag. While this system has been found to promote sales, there are drawbacks. Thus, the system is prone to spillage, with a concomitant generation of litter and waste. Where unwrapped food items are involved, the system can lead to unsanitary conditions. Further, the system tends to encourage pilferage. Moreover, where the items being dispensed are susceptible to clinging together, such as bulk sticky candies, a purchaser is faced with difficulty in separating the items in order to collect only a desired amount.
The present invention maintains the appeal of a dispensing arrangement which displays bulk items for the selective dispensing of a desired quantity of such items, and does so without the drawbacks outlined above. As such, the present invention attains several objects and advantages, some of which may be summarized as follows: Provides an appealing display of bulk items at a point of sale and effective dispensing of an amount of the displayed items upon demand; enables the display and dispensing of a selected quantity of bulk items at a point of purchase with increased ease and accuracy, and without excessive spillage and waste; promotes sanitary conditions not only during display and dispensing, but during cleaning and re-stocking, as well; facilitates the storage and re-stocking of bulk items to be dispensed at a point of sale; enhances the appeal of bulk items offered for sale at various locations in supermarkets, shopping malls, movie theaters and like venues; simplifies the retrieval of a desired amount of selected bulk items at a point of purchase for encouraging bulk item sales; presents a volume of bulk items for display and dispensing while being essentially sealed against unwanted handling; discourages excessive handling and pilferage; provides a simplified mechanism which is economical to manufacture and install in numerous venues for promoting the sale of a wide variety of bulk items; provides an apparatus which is easy to maintain and is capable of exemplary performance over an extended service life.
The above objects and advantages, as well as further objects and advantages, are attained by the present invention which may be described briefly as a bulk item dispensing module for displaying bulk items and selectively dispensing a designated quantity of the bulk items from a multiplicity of the bulk items upon demand, the dispensing module comprising: a bin for containing a multiplicity of bulk items in a volume of the bulk items, the bin having a lower bottom, an upper top spaced vertically upwardly from the bottom, a first end and a second end opposite the first end and spaced horizontally from the first end; a dispensing outlet at the first end of the bin, adjacent the top of the bin; a conveyor within the bin, the conveyor including a first leg extending generally horizontally between the first and the second end of the bin, adjacent the bottom of the bin, and a second leg extending generally vertically between the first leg of the conveyor and the dispensing outlet, adjacent the first end of the bin, such that the multiplicity of bulk items will rest against the conveyor and will be located between the conveyor, the top of the bin and the second end of the bin; and a drive arrangement for selectively driving the first leg of the conveyor in a direction from the second end toward the first end of the bin, and the second leg of the conveyor in a direction from the bottom toward the top of the bin for moving bulk items from the volume of bulk items to the dispensing outlet, in response to a demand, while simultaneously tumbling the bulk items within the volume to separate the bulk items from one another for delivery of the designated quantity of individual, discrete selected bulk items to the dispensing outlet.
In addition, the present invention includes dispensing apparatus for displaying a variety of bulk items and dispensing bulk items selected from the variety of bulk items, the dispensing apparatus comprising: a frame; a plurality of dispensing modules; a mounting arrangement for mounting each one of the plurality of dispensing modules in the frame for selective removal from and replacement in the frame; each dispensing module comprising: a bin for containing a multiplicity of bulk items in a volume of the bulk items, the bin having a lower bottom, an upper top spaced vertically upwardly from the bottom, a first end and a second end opposite the first end and spaced horizontally from the first end; a dispensing outlet at the first end of the bin, adjacent the top of the bin; a conveyor within the bin, the conveyor including a first leg extending generally horizontally between the first and the second end of the bin, adjacent the bottom of the bin, and a second leg extending generally vertically between the first leg of the conveyor and the dispensing outlet, adjacent the first end of the bin, such that the multiplicity of bulk items will rest against the conveyor and will be located between the conveyor, the top of the bin and the second end of the bin; and a drive arrangement for selectively driving the first leg of the conveyor in a direction from the second end toward the first end of the bin, and the second leg of the conveyor in a direction from the bottom toward the top of the bin for moving bulk items from the volume of bulk items to the dispensing outlet, in response to a demand, while simultaneously tumbling the bulk items within the volume to separate the bulk items from one another for delivery of a plurality of individual, discrete bulk items to the dispensing outlet.
Further, the present invention includes a method for displaying bulk items and selectively dispensing a designated quantity of the bulk items from a multiplicity of the bulk items upon demand, the method comprising: containing a multiplicity of bulk items in a volume of the bulk items within a bin having a lower bottom, an upper top spaced vertically upwardly from the bottom, a first end and a second end opposite the first end and spaced horizontally from the first end; locating a dispensing outlet at the first end of the bin, adjacent the top of the bin; and simultaneously conveying bulk items in a horizontal direction, adjacent the bottom of the bin, and in a vertical direction, adjacent the first end of the bin, to move bulk items from the volume of bulk items to the dispensing outlet, in response to a demand, while simultaneously tumbling the bulk items within the volume to separate the bulk items from one another for delivery of a designated quantity of individual, discrete selected bulk items to the dispensing outlet.